It seems our lack of self-esteem has reached epidemic proportions, especially in the young if the harrowing headlines are representative. “Low body confidence in kids is ‘now more normal than not’,” is just one via Indy100 that leaves me feeling winded. Naturally, these stories speak to me much more since becoming a parent, but they’re not new concerns.

My mother reflects on having felt the same anxiety, telling me how she tirelessly tried to present alternatives to the 80s-to-90s Disney princesses I inevitably idolised and Barbie dolls I aspired to acquire – none of which ever represented an average appearance.

Now, however, we can add social media into the mix of potential self-esteem sabotagers. The second nature selfie culture – complete with filters and Facetuning as standard, or Snapchat-inspired surgery, gulp, in the extreme – are just some of the virtual elements posing a threat.

There’s been an increase in sufferers of so-called Snapchat dysmorphia

Instagram/Kendall Jenner, Kylie Jenner, Bella Hadid

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And then of course there’s cyber bullying targeting children’s appearances and shattering their confidence beyond recognition. The scale seems incomparable to passing a nasty note around the classroom, which was bad enough.

“Of course, the digital generation has also helped democratise ‘beauty'”

Of course, the digital generation has also helped democratise ‘beauty’ and brought infinite platforms for diversity to be seen and celebrated, while challenging outdated standards.

Though trends come and go, most generations had homogenised notions of what was celebrated as conventionally beautiful (in my school days it had progressed from the strong Supermodels – all healthy and wealthy looking, to the ‘heroin chic’ scenesters epitomised by Kate Moss, whom I looked upon lovingly).

Ask a teen what’s beautiful now and you’d receive a refreshingly varied response. Of course, the Jenner-Kardashians would feature, having been the poster girls for the contoured, injected lip look of late, but so too would British-Ghanaian activist Adwoa Aboah – now a face of Revlon; Anok Yai, the Egyptian-born American model of Sudanese descent who was recently signed by Estée Lauder, and Iskra Lawrence, the model and self-care advocate who is now a L’Oreal Princes Trust ambassador alongside icons like Helen Mirren.

Revlon’s ’Live Boldly’ campaign featuring Adwoa Aboah

Courtesy

These women are just some examples of the changing face of the industry who are using their positions to not only pedal new lipsticks, but to reinforce the fact that old beauty standards should stay in the past. However, given that I like to think there is no female or male ‘ideal’ anymore, the pressure on young people to be the perfect versions of themselves (often in photographs) is relentless.

My son is only two years old and barely capable of uttering the word ‘Snapchat’ (not that I’m trying to teach him that one), but my first hurdle in this confidence context is whether to reinforce the notion to him that he’s ‘beautiful’ (which, obviously, I think he is). Instinctively, it seems the positive, esteem-building thing to say and do – and I hear parents at the kiddy clubs doing it all the time. Yet placing value on aesthetics can be damaging in itself. My toddler is regularly told by well-meaning friends and strangers alike what beautiful curls he has and how he’s lucky to have such a gorgeous ‘tan’ (he’s mixed race…) at an age when he should rightly be blissfully unaware of his appearance. Should he have more striking features–flame red hair, or prominent freckles, for example–I imagine he’d be starting to reference them by now, which would certainly concern me.

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“Something that fills my heart with hope is the Dove Self-Esteem Project”

Something that fills my heart with hope, though, is the Dove Self-Esteem Project, the biggest provider of self-esteem education of its kind, which since 2004 has positively impacted over 29 million young lives across 140 countries worldwide. By 2020, they promise to reach 40 million young people through their existing educational programmes (they host sessions in schools as well as providing resources for teachers, parents/mentors and youth leaders online), plus a new campaign.

In a two-year global partnership with the Cartoon Network, the beauty brand has teamed up with multi-Emmy nominated series Steven Universe in a bid to educate young viewers on body confidence through the cartoon’s themes of inclusivity and empowerment.

Created and produced by animator and screenwriter Rebecca Sugar, the cartoon series is celebrated for its anti-bullying themes with characters that subvert stereotypical gender norms. The new films, co-created with Dove, explore appearance-related bullying, the futile comparison of looks and manipulation in the media, with additional shorts, an e-book, song and music video centred around body image topics.

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While I enter a world of luminous children’s TV (happily avoiding Peppa Pig thus far), I’ll be keeping this on standby for essential educational viewing as and when my son may grasp it.

When the day comes he asks me to explain what my job is (“I write about beauty, darling”) I want him to know I hope that’s by projecting beauty as a source of confidence, not anxiety – Dove’s ethos that I’m fully aligned with.